Cougars & Mustangs

It’s the cusp of summertime, and for Central Coast college students that usually means prepping for finals before heading to the beach to celebrate the conclusion of another school year.

Staying with the celebratory aquatic theme, Cal Poly women’s water polo team has a lot to rejoice about as it claimed the National Collegiate Club Championship for the fourth consecutive year, with a 6-2 win over longtime rivals University of California, Davis. The lady Mustangs are the first collegiate club program to claim four straight national championship titles.

The Mustangs’ Sarah Ur was named the Most Valuable Player for the fourth consecutive year. With the win, Cal Poly became the most successful program in the history of collegiate club water polo, appearing in nine of the last 10 national
title games.

In more collegiate water news, Cal Poly student Victoria Carranza, president of the Cal Poly chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition, was honored with the Bill Denneen Environmental Award for her recent work with the Marine Sanctuary Alliance.

The awards keeping coming in for Cal Poly alumni and instructors, as Aerospace Engineering Professor Jordi Puig-Suari and Business Professor Michael Geringer were awarded the university’s Annual Distinguished Scholarship Award. The professors were recognized for raising Cal Poly’s international profile and creating unique opportunities for Cal Poly students.

Biology Teacher in Residence and alumna Anne Marie Bergen will be flying to Washington, D.C. in May to receive the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Cal Poly graduate Tricia Compas is being recognized for her humanities and the development of the “Polytech Waterbag,” a portable, low-cost device to provide clean drinking water to disaster victims and displaced populations.

Who knew aggies could advertise so well? Cal Poly’s National Agricultural Marketing Association (NAMA) Team earned first place at the 2011 National Agri-Marketing Association student marketing competition in Kansas City, Mo. Their winning strategy was built around marketing patented seedless lemons to high-end full-service restaurants in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas.

Cuesta College is sending 10 students to the SkillsUSA Championships, a June showcase of the best career and technical students in the nation. The students qualified after finishing first at the annual State Leadership Conference and SkillsUSA California Championships, held April 28 to May 1 in San Diego.

“In terms of the sheer number of students, this is the best we’ve ever done,” said John Stokes, Cuesta’s engineering and technology division chairman.